UMB’s Veteran Engagement Taskforce was recently honored with the Guardian Award from St. Michael’s Veterans Center.

As an army veteran, the motto “Duty, Honor, Country” still guides me today, which is why I am lucky to work for an organization with similar values. Five years ago, UMB recognized the immense need in our community to support veterans. Our company decided to form the Veterans Engagement Taskforce (VET) to help serve the veteran community, both internally and externally.

Internally, the group is focused on helping recruit veterans to become UMBers and supporting veteran associates at work through career development opportunities and mentorships. Veterans bring many transferable skills to the workplace from their experiences in the military and UMB recognizes the value of these skills. Externally, VET is committed to working with organizations that encourage veterans as they reenter civilian life and to assisting with events and fundraisers. During the past few years, the group has grown to include associates across UMB’s footprint, hosting more than 40 events in 2018.

Earlier this month, UMB was honored with the Guardian Award from St. Michael’s Veterans Center‡ for our commitment to the veteran community. The award is given based on a company’s significant and recognizable influence in serving the veteran community with a demonstration of leadership. At UMB, we are proud to support veterans in several different communities through various events and local partnerships.

UMB has been a strong supporter of St. Michaels both financially and through volunteer efforts. We were honored to be recognized with this award. The Veterans Engagement Taskforce gives me a sense of belonging both at work and in the community.

Supporting our community

Across UMB’s footprint, associates host collection drives and volunteer events to support veterans. A few of our most recent events include:

Mail Call: Our Fund Services VET in Milwaukee recently set up ‘mailboxes’ to collect letters and postcards. The mail was sent to veterans who receive a mail call on their Honor Flight. Our Fund Services associates and their families generously supported this campaign and look forward to doing it again.

HERO Box: UMB’s St. Louis VET sponsored a HERO box drive to send items to service men and women to support them during the hot summer months. Some common items requested by service members include lip balm, wet wipes, snacks, drink mixes, games, holiday decor, recorded sermons and music CDs. The goal of this drive was to give service men and women comfort items from home they miss while overseas.

Community groups

UMB works with several organizations across our footprint to support veterans. In Kansas City, we work with the Kansas City Veteran Coalition‡, which serves as a centralized hub for area corporations to hire or help veterans transitioning out of the military.

We also work with American Corporate Partners‡ (ACP), a national nonprofit organization focused on helping returning veterans find their next careers through one-on-one mentoring, networking and online career advice. UMB is a proud sponsor and participant in ACP’s mentoring program which we have been a part of for five years—our associates are currently mentoring 30 veterans. According to ACP, more than 1 million veterans are expected to transition from the armed forces to civilian life during the next five years.

In addition, UMB associates spent more than 600 volunteer hours with the Veterans Community Project, a development group that builds “tiny houses” for veterans. The group is expanding into St. Louis and Denver which will give UMB VET groups even more opportunities to give back to the veteran community.

Thankful for veterans

At UMB, we are honored to have a thriving group committed to veterans in our communities. We understand the enormous sacrifice our service men and women make to keep our country safe and will always welcome the opportunity to support them.

Stay informed on industry trends and noteworthy company news by visiting our UMB in the News section on umb.com or following UMB on LinkedIn.

Follow UMB on Facebook‡ and Twitter‡ to see regular updates about our company, people and timely financial perspectives.

John Ward has been with UMB since 1994, most recently serving as a senior project manager in UMB’s Enterprise Project Management Office. John also serves as the Chairman of the Veterans Engagement Taskforce (VET) Business Resource Group, which focuses on supporting veteran causes inside and outside of UMB. John is a US Army veteran, serving active duty from 1980-1990 and spent 7 years stationed overseas in Berlin and Frankfurt.

The content on these pages is for informational use and is not intended to be an offer, recommendation or advice by us regarding any banking or investment product. Please contact UMB directly to discuss any product.

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they relate to the specific topic discussed in the post on which they are made. For more information, please see our Comment Terms and Conditions. UMB is not responsible for and does not endorse any comments by blog visitors, or the content, advertising, products, advice, opinions, recommendations or other materials on or available directly or via hyperlinks from this or any other page on WordPress or any website owned or operated by a third party. UMB is not responsible for the privacy, security, dispute resolution or terms of use policies at this site or any other third party site that may be linked to from this page or from other WordPress.com pages. Using any third party sites and materials is at your own risk

UMB is not responsible for and does not endorse any comments, content, advertising, products, advice, opinions, recommendations or other materials on or available directly or via hyperlinks from Facebook, Twitter or any third-party Web site. Your use of this site is subject to acceptance of our Terms and Conditions. Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook, Inc. The Twitter name is a trademark of Twitter, Inc.

When you click links marked with the “‡” symbol, you will leave UMB’s Web site and go to Web sites that are not controlled by or affiliated with UMB. We have provided these links for your convenience. However, we do not endorse or guarantee any products or services you may view on other sites. Other Web sites may not follow the same privacy policies and security procedures that UMB does, so please review their policies and procedures carefully.